AM-EK (An Undertale-Littletale Story)
by Extra Extra Quakey
Summary: AM-EK… That was her experiment name. It was how they told her apart from all the others after her family died, when they found her and took her against her will. She was weak and she didn't know how to use her magic, so they tried to make her stronger.. and it only worked in /her/ favor. When she escapes her own personal hell and meets someone who takes her in, how will she cope?
1. Everyone dies alone

**A/N:** **HIYA!  
** **Yes, I have a Littletale!Fate, and she is precious.  
This is the start of her story, so no hate please, because I will point and laugh.  
I'm gonna put up a TRIGGER WARNING right here, right now. See that Trigger Warning? Yah, look at it. This could be a pretty triggering story for some people, so please proceed with caution.  
** **I got this idea randomly a little while ago and decided to finally write it.. And share it. So, please, enjoy~**

* * *

'Everyone _dies alone, in cages… broken.'  
'… Am I going to die, too? Alone… broken…'_

"You're saying that it _**hurts**_?" A Human man questioned, writing notes down on a piece of paper clipped to a clipboard. A small cat Monster, no more than a little kid, sat on a bed across from him, only in a torn blue dress besides 3 necklaces and a multi-colored bracelet, and she nodded a little bit. "I see… Well, you have my apologies about that, AM-EK."

AM-EK… That was her experiment name. It was how they told her apart from all the others, whom she never met or heard about, or anything of the sort. It was her name, Ame, and the first letter of her last name, Konno… and she hated it, but she didn't dare to say so.

"You seem to have grown since your last physical exam. I'll adjust your painkillers—"

"No…" She said suddenly, cutting the man off. He looked up from his papers curiously, waiting for her to explain herself. "I'm not in pain in that way. It hurts… on the inside."

"… Is this a joke? _**It isn't funny, AM-EK**_. I must admit that your intelligence and observational skills make you more mature than appreciated… However, we're not here to be your little problem-fixers, got that? Just deal with it and soon enough, we won't have a need for you anymore."

* * *

"Dr. Torres…?" AM-EK asked softly, gaining a bit of attention from the man. She had a book in her lap and was sitting in the corner of the room, her head down with her gaze slightly up. "What did you mean about not having a need for me anymore…?"

"We scientists get bored… I'm not gonna lie, but you'll probably be thrown out like trash." Dr. Torres replied, making Fate sink into the corner a little bit. "If you don't mind, I'd like to focus on my work rather than your little existential crisis, AM-EK."

"… What are you working on?" She asked. Her voice was even softer than before as she sunk into the corner further than before, shaking as soon as his hand slammed again his working space.

"I do _**not**_ need to share that information with you, AM-EK!"

"… Y-Yes, sir… I-I'm sorry…"

* * *

Her door opened slowly, revealing Dr. Torres as her plain expression went even blanker upon seeing him, lab coat and all.

"AM-EK, are you awake?" He asked cautiously before seeing her on the floor with her book. It was the one thing she had to escape that hellhole with, so she always kept it with her and read it slowly, never wanting to finish it although she was curious as to how it would end. "Good, come with me."

* * *

"Sit down, AM-EK."

She paused, swallowing uncomfortably for being back in the office before she was mentally prepared to be, before sitting down on the bed across from his desk. He casually strolled over to her after closing the door and she settled into a slightly panicked state, watching his every movement closely. Things were going to go wrong fast… She knew they would.

Her wrist was suddenly grabbed and her arm was slammed down, bringing the rest of her body with it as she let out a scream from the action. He wrapped a restraint around her wrist, tightening it to the point where she could barely feel anything, before doing the same thing to her other wrist, both of her feet, and her head for a reason unbeknownst to her.

"This may hurt a little bit, AM-EK."

She didn't say anything because her throat had closed up the moment this all started. He put something on the top of her eye and another thing of the same kind on the bottom of it, making sure she couldn't close it no matter how hard she tried to do so. Tears started to cloud her vision moments after, but Dr. Torres didn't stop or even pause for a moment.

She watched as he held her head in place with one hand and put a needle close to her eye with his other, the liquid in it being a bright and strange color to her. She let out more screams because she was terrified of needles and it was so close, but couldn't squirm because her body had frozen up.

"Be quiet!" He yelled at her, making her break down into tiny sobs and sniffles. "Stay still, you hear me?"

She did as she was told, even as she felt the needle against her eye. One of her sobs was a little louder than the rest of them as the needle entered ever so gently and she felt the liquid starting to pull in. Everything started to go blank before she suddenly couldn't feel anything except the pain of whatever Dr. Torres was trying to do.

So naturally, she screamed and started to struggle against the restraints, squirming even under his grip as he tried to make her stop. She could feel blood pouring from both of her eyes and screamed louder, more in fear than anything else at that point. It only increased as she heard him curse, removing the needle and starting to wrap bandages around her head, covering her eyes with them.

It was the only injury he had ever bandaged instead of just stitched up, in which she didn't know how to react to it. She wasn't sure if she could because even though she could still think clearly, she had lost nearly all control of her body otherwise.

"It's okay, AM-EK! You're fine, just take deep breaths! Breathe, AM-EK, just breath…"

* * *

' _Is this what it's like to really go numb and not feel anything…? I don't like it… Everything should hurt… I'm so tired…_ '

"AM-EK, are you listening?"

' _I can't see anything except how dark it is. I don't want to be here._ '

The bandages were removed and yet, she still stared ahead without blinking. She hadn't gone blind, had she? Nonetheless, Dr. Torres took notes while he observed her. He noticed that she hadn't moved at all and he put his clipboard and pen down, gently patting her head. She didn't even flinch.

"You'll be okay." He stated, turning to go back to his work before suddenly freezing upon hearing her words.

"You did this to me." She reminded him, speaking for the first time since the big experiment. She blinked once and then twice… and then she started to blink normally again. Her eyes and head moved as if she was looking around, but you wouldn't be able to tell if she actually saw anything because she didn't give off any signs of such.

"Y-Yes… b-but I only did because I-I was sure you would get bet—"

"You're bad at lying, Dr. Torres."

He was suddenly pinned to the wall with black and white arrows and within seconds, they didn't shatter as they had many times before. The experiment had made her stronger and because of that, he was now in trouble.

"I-I'm not…"

"You are not permitted to speak." She stated, her eyes piercing into his. She didn't even have to raise her hands and she wasn't shaking… How had such little time changed such a little girl?

"Y-You really are… c-cursed…" He muttered before letting out a pained scream that was muffled moments later due to little arrows sewing his lips tightly together.

She got to her feet cautiously, trusting the waters, before looking around for something… so she could see again despite her eyes still being slightly bloody. She grabbed one of Dr. Torres' tools off of his desk and examined how sharp it was before looking up at him, hearing him scream even though it was just sound vibrating in his throat due to having nowhere else to go.

"Be quiet." She ordered, slightly mocking him. She then smiled a little bit, walking closer to him as he squirmed against her magic.

" _ **Stay still, won't you**_?"

And then piercing screams rang out through the building, soon followed by alarms.


	2. Destiny liked snow

Destiny liked snow. It was his favorite kind of weather no matter what time of the year it was. That didn't mean he hated heat or the sun, or anything else, but snow was just his favorite. That why, even during the small blizzard, he bundled up and went outside to enjoy it… just for a couple of minutes.

It would've stayed that way if he hadn't heard someone coughing down a little slope from him.

He paused before leaning over the edge, removing his scarf from his mouth so he could speak to whoever was coughing.

"Hello…?" He called softly, a little scared but mostly worried. "Who's coughing…?"

He waited before seeing someone crawl around a rock, stopping beside it because it slightly blocked the blizzard from hitting them. However, that didn't stop it from being cold.

It was a little girl, the same kind of Monster her was, with soft-looking gray fur and sapphire blue eyes. She only had a blue dress to cover her body, although she was wearing 3 necklaces and a bracelet, but even that was torn and barely a piece of fabric alone. She was shivering and looked like she had a cold, in which she probably did due to her current living condition.

Destiny quickly hopped down the slope, confusing and most likely scaring her, and could feel how cold she was from a least a foot away.

"You're freezing…" He mumbled, gaining a small, shaky nod from her. "Don't worry, Destiny is here." He quickly took off his jacket, leaving him in his other layers of clothing, and helped her put it on despite her reluctance.

"Wh-What are you doing…? Y-You'll be c-cold n-now…" She told him. His cheeks went pink upon hearing her voice, which sounded so melodic despite her stuttering. It sounded so hoarse, however, almost as if she had been screaming and crying.

"I'll be fine. A prince never lets a damsel in distress stay distressed." He stated, always seeing things in a fantasy kind of way. He slowly scooped her into his arms, holding her bridal style, and carefully started to walk with her being held close to him.

"Wh-Where are you t-t-taking m-me…?" She asked in a small whisper, sounding fairly scared.

"I'm taking back to my place. I live with all my friends." Destiny replied, gaining a small nod from her as she rested her head against his shoulder.

* * *

 _"Wake up, child…"  
"Come on… You can do it…"_

Her eyes slowly blinked open, giving her a moment to adjust to her surroundings before alerting her brain that she was in an unfamiliar place. When she looked to her right, she saw a tall skeleton in black and before she could stop herself, she let out a small scream and scrambled as far as she could before pain took over, making her fall back down against the bed she was in.

"Fate, are you okay!? I heard a scream!" Destiny yelled, slamming the door open as he ran into the room. She knew him. She had met him out in the snow. Where was she? Who was the skeleton? "Oh, I see that you've met Dr. Gaster!"

"Wh-Who… Who's Fate…?" She asked softly before looking up at the so-called Gaster with a slightly scared expression. "A-And… Who…?"

"Oh, Fate is the name I decided to call you, since you've been asleep for a couple of days and since it goes along with my name: Destiny." He explained before motioning to Gaster. "And that's Dr. Gaster, but most of us call him Dadster. By most of us, I mean—"

He was cut off by a bunch of footsteps, whose bodies soon ran into the room, stopping by the door. She didn't like crowds.

"These are my friends, who I live with." Destiny told her, pointing to them as he introduced them. "Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys and Asgore… And Gaster takes care of all of us."

"Hello."  
"Sup?"  
"Hello!"  
"Hey."  
"H-Hi…"  
"Good evening."

"Wh-What… happened…?" She asked softly, hiding under the blankets a little bit.

"Well, I found you in the snow and helped you. I went through the blizzard to come back and you feel asleep in my arms, which I didn't mind since you looked so peaceful." Destiny explained, gaining a small nod from her. "I protected you with my life, Fate! Er… I mean…"

"Th-Thank you…" She thanked him softly, making him nod in reply.

"Child, tell me, what is your actual name?" Gaster asked after making the other children leave and go back to bed, making her jump a little bit as she looked at him before looking down at her lap. She seemed to pause as she thought with her breathing a little shaky before she smiled a little bit.

"Fate… My name is Fate." She replied, using the name Destiny had chosen to call her, making him light up with enthusiasm.

"Oh my gosh! You like the name I chose!" Destiny decided before turning to Gaster. "Dadster, can we keep her? Can we, please?"

"Destiny, she's not a dog. How do we know that she doesn't have parents who are worried about her…?" Gaster asked softly, probably thinking that Fate couldn't hear. Destiny just turned to her.

"Fate, do you have parents or relatives?" He asked, making Gaster start freaking out internally before Fate answered.

"No… I don't…" She replied. Suddenly, tears filled her eyes and started to slip down her cheeks as she pulled the blankets closer to her body. Destiny climbed up on the bed quickly with a worried look.

"Fate, what's wrong?" He asked, his voice laced with worry as she started to actually cry.

"Th-They… Th-They're all g-gone…" She sobbed in reply. "D-Dead… a-and j-just gone…"

Destiny suddenly hugged her, making her tense at the contact before relaxing because he just seemed to have that affect on her. She cried more as she hesitated, but then wrapped her arms around him and grabbed onto his shirt, holding herself close to him.

"Please don't cry, Fate. I'll keep you safe from now on, I promise." Destiny promised, making her let out another sob.

"B-But… Destiny…"

"Shh… It's going to be okay…"

* * *

 **{One Week Later…}**

 _This… isn't… good…_

Fate woke up from a nightmare suddenly, the shadows around her dancing from her magic before she made them stop, everything becoming still. She laid there for a moment with her thoughts about nearly everything before getting up, heading to Destiny's room quietly. She opened the door and peered in, gently calling for him.

"Fate…?" A voice asked, a shadow coming out of nowhere. She let out a soft yell and held up her hands, summoning black and white arrows and aiming them at her target before they pulled open the door, revealing themself to be Destiny. "St-Stop!"

She froze, putting her arms down slowly as the arrows disappeared, pure horror rushing across her features as she stared at Destiny. This wasn't good… He would be scared and call her a freak…

"D-Destiny… I'm so sorry…" She apologized softly, backing away a bit.

"Fate… What was that?" Destiny asked, sounding a little scared. Fate stuttered out incoherent things before biting her bottom lip, nibbling on it before Destiny smiled at her a bit. "You didn't mean it, did you, Fate? Come here, I don't wanna wake up the others."

Destiny gently rested a hand on her back and lead her into his room, closing the door before climbing up onto his bed, waiting for her to follow. She did so carefully because all she had on was a pair of shorts and a long shirt of his that he had given her.

"Just tell me what that was, okay…?" Destiny asked softly, making her look down at her lap. He noticed that she hadn't removed her jewelry before going to sleep and wondered if there was a reason.

"It's… I have these powers and… They're scary and no one likes them." She replied, fiddling with her necklaces.

"You'd never hurt anyone, right? It's okay." He said before she shook her head a bit.

"The arrows could've launched without my permission and hit you, though…" She replied before sighing. "And… I-I… _**see**_ things."

"That's pretty cool…" He mumbled. "I can't do those kinds of things… Oh, um, it's probably best if you don't tell Dr. Gaster about this. He's a scientist and…" He paused before noticing how scared she seemed to get when he said the word 'scientist'. He noticed that she was shaking and quickly grabbed a stuffed bear, handing it to Fate. "Nevermind… We'll talk in the morning, okay? I'll protect you from nightmares, I promise."

* * *

 _'This isn't okay…'_

Fate sat in what was now her room, hovering and turning a small arrow in circles in front of her face as she sighed. Destiny had tried to help her control her powers, but it was a complete failure. She felt really bad about it, but couldn't help but think about why she shouldn't tell Gaster. What would he do to her, as a scientist?

Thinking about it made her shiver, hugging herself as her breathing went a little shallow. It made her think of _**them**_. It made her think of how she ended up in the blizzard in the first place. Her breath hitched as the door opened, revealing Gaster, in which made her reach out quickly and crush her arrow, allowing it to disappear.

"Fate…?" He asked softly, his expression unreadable to her and she quickly became even more afraid of what would happen to her. "Fate, what kind of magic was that? How did you do that?"

"I… I don't know… I've always had it… I-It isn't dangerous unless I make it, it isn't, I promise…" She replied softly, shaking as she stood up to move away from him. "Please don't be angry…" Gaster walked forward slowly and reached out for her, making her curl in on herself out of fear. "Please don't send me away…"

As his hand landed on her shoulder, she yelled out at him, tears starting to stream down her face.

"You can use me for science or whatever, just please don't send me away!" She yelled before starting to sob. Gaster immediately knelt down, wrapping his arms around her and holding her as she cried against his shoulder.

"Fate, where did you get an idea like that? Calm down, child…" Gaster shushed her before pulling away to look at her, wiping some of her tears away. "Listen to me. I would never send you away. You're my child now, no matter what happens. I promise." He pulled her back into a hug, letting her cry as much as she needed. "And the whole science thing… Did Destiny say something about it? Why would I experiment on _**my own child**_?"

"I-I don't k-know… I-I'm sorry…" Fate sobbed.

" _ **Don't ever be sorry**_. You didn't know and you were scared. That's okay."


	3. You don't have to do this

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Fate looked at the ground, her eyes running along her new outfit as she did so. Gaster had re-done her stitches, doing them properly that time, and had been nice enough to make her a whole new outfit so she didn't have to borrow anything from Destiny. It was simple, but she was grateful for it.

It was a light gray quarter-sleeved shirt with a hood, the strings black with black stripes at the ends of the sleeves and such, a pair of dark blue jeans shorts, black cropped leggings and a pair of black combat boots. She had a simple pair of white socks as well.

They had decided that today, Fate should properly meet the other kids… and she had agreed because she was tired of hiding out in her and Destiny's rooms.

"I… I want to. I'm just… anxious…" She explained in a soft voice, making him squeeze the hand he was holding reassuringly. She looked up, seeing his soft smile and relaxing a little bit as she nodded. "Yah…"

"It'll be okay. They're all really nice."

* * *

Fate's heart nearly stopped upon seeing the small group of kids, but when she squeezed Destiny's hand and felt how reassuring his little bit of warmth was, her heart resorted to just racing at a fair pace. Gaster was there and Destiny was straight beside her, and she trusted both of them to let the others talk to her one by one.

The first kid was a little goat girl in a purple and white dress, a crest that Fate didn't know decorating the chest of it. Her smile was just as soft as Destiny's and she was being really cautious, which Fate appreciated.

"Hello, my name is Toriel." She greeted, obviously not expecting a reply as she gently rested a hand on Fate's shoulder, constantly checking to make sure that it was okay before actually touching her. "I could teach you how to bake sometime, if you'd like."

"… I'd like that…" Fate responded softly, making Toriel light up as she nodded with a big smile before backing away, allowing the next person to go up.

A small skeleton dressed in bright colors, like orange and yellow, cautiously walked up to her with a little restraining support from Gaster. He seemed like he was really hyper, yet he was trying to stay calm just so he didn't scare her. She really appreciated that even if his hyperness was a part of his personality because she knew that he was at least trying.

"H-Hello…" He greeted, stuttering because he was obviously holding back most of his hyperness. When he held out his hand for her to shake, she hesitated a moment before cautiously grabbing it, letting him do the little bit of shaking. "My name is the Great Papyrus! It's nice to meet you."

She paused for a moment before nodding, finding his personality something to look up to.

"… It's nice to meet you, too…" She mumbled, making his face light up before he frantically nodded, turning on his heel and running back to the couch quicker than she had ever seen anyone run before.

Next was a red-haired little fish girl who wore an eye patch, which made Fate think of how she could have to wear it, which made her think back on some things. She must've noticed because she lifted her eye patch to show her that it was just something she liked to wear and that her eye was perfectly fine.

"Heya, my name is Undyne!" She introduced herself, holding out her hand for Fate to shake, in which she carefully did before there was a bit of a silence, and then Undyne went to sit down.

There was a moment of silence in which no one moved before they all looked at a little, red-faced, yellow dinosaur girl, who went an even darker from all the attention.

"Alphys, introduce yourself!" Undyne told her, but she just shook her head.

"I-I don't th-think I-I can…" She mumbled, hiding her face in her hands.

Fate understood how she felt and squeezed Destiny's hand to tell him that it was okay and he motioned for the last one, which was another skeleton. He seemed pretty casual because his hands were in the pockets of his shorts and he had a pretty blank expression alongside his grin, an adorable gap in his teeth making him look younger than he probably was.

"Hiya, my name is Sans the skeleton. Paps and I are Dadster's original kiddos." He explained, making Fate feel a little bad. Suddenly, there was a blanket wrapped around her and Destiny as Sans' grin somehow got wider. "I made a / _ **purr-ito**_ /."

Papyrus yelled at Sans not to make jokes and everyone either laughed or groaned at it. The moment the joke was made, it made Fate think of her Dad… and she laughed with the others for a moment, who laughed more because they believed that she was okay.

Then she laughed too hard and she continued to laugh as she started to sob, tears starting to stream down her face. Everyone then stopped, looking at her in worry. She apologized softly between her laughs and sobs as Destiny wrapped his arms around her, hugging her carefully. She could hear Sans apologizing even though it wasn't really his fault, but she couldn't tell him that because she was just sobbing and she couldn't stop.

* * *

 _I… feel horrible…_

Fate was lying on her bed with a couple of arrows hovering above her, still trying to calm down from earlier. She felt so stupid for crying over a simple joke, yet she didn't know why she had even done so… It felt like it should've been because of her Dad, but for some reason, it felt like she was just trying to get all of her emotions from the past couple of years out.

She didn't even know if she was safe. She didn't _**think**_ that she was, not even just a little. They set off the alarms and she barely got away… so they would look for her. They still needed her… for now… so they wouldn't stop until they got her, finished using her, and did whatever they did with entirely used experiments. She shivered upon thinking about what they would do and just rolled over, making her arrows disappear.

 _This isn't okay. This isn't okay. This isn't okay._

She kept repeating that, over and over again without any failure. She didn't know why, but it helped her calm down for some reason. It somehow had kept her sane and still helped with keeping her as sane as possible.

Then there was a knock at her door, making her jump a bit before she called out shakily to let the person come in. When the door opened to reveal Sans, she was wondering why he would come to visit her and got her answer when he crawled up onto her bed, looking really apologetic.

"Hey… I'm sorry for, um, well… whatever happened earlier…" He apologized. "I dunno what happened, but the moment you started crying, I just… I feel really bad, so I'm sorry."

She sat up slowly before suddenly hugging him, feeling him tense under the contact before relaxing and hugging her back gently. She mumbled that it was okay and she felt him smile a bit as he hugged her a little tighter, nodding and thanking her a bit. What for, she wasn't sure… but she didn't really care because she felt accepted for once in her life.

Although, she was at least 99% sure that it wouldn't last.


	4. Wanna join us

"Wanna join us?"

Fate had simply walked downstairs to get some bread, at least, from the fridge. She hadn't meant to be seen by the others when she stopped at the bottom of the staircase to see them all bundling up in jackets, scarves, etc. That's when Destiny turned, most likely to run upstairs, and stopped when he saw her standing there.

He had smiled and explained that they were going for their daily walk and since there was snow everywhere, and it was cold, they needed to bundle up. He asked if she would like to join and because she didn't see any other choice than being left alone, she agreed.

Destiny went over to her in a jogging/skipping way and grabbed her hand, pulling her over to the small group. He grabbed a scarf off of the coat hanger and carefully wrapped it loosely around her neck, letting it rest on her shoulders, before grabbing a jacket and helping her put it on. He even zipped it up for her and helped her put both of her hoods on, giggling over something before grabbing her hand again.

"There, are you warm?" He asked. She paused before nodding a little bit, making his smile even bigger. "That's good!"

* * *

It was a simple walk beside Destiny as Gaster walked a little bit ahead of them, keeping an eye on everyone at the same time while the group ran in different directions to play. They eventually stopped in a small area so they could all run around and have boundaries of where to go and where not to go.

After deciding on a game to play, in which ended up in 'Snowball Tag', they all started to run around with Sans occasionally throwing snowballs at all of them. Fate even noticed that some of them were using magic within the rules of the game, which she studied closely so she could know more about them. Someone's magic told a lot about their personality.

"Hey, Dr. Gaster!"

That was before a pair of well-dressed men came over to talk with Gaster, both wearing the crest of the place she had been held and experimented on at. She instantly curled in on herself and ended up curling against Destiny, who wrapped his arms around her although he didn't know why she was getting so close.

"Oh, Marcus and Johnnie… What would you like?" Gaster asked. He had obviously noticed Fate's reaction because he had pulled both her and Destiny closer to him, keeping an arm around the protectively.

"It's nothing much. We're just looking for a little brat that escaped the big lab the other day." Johnnie explained casually, although it made Fate tense. What other 'little brat' could've escaped a big lab the other day besides her?

"It's been about a week of looking, Johnnie! That also means it's been about a week since the little shit killed Dr. Torres and has been running around with **the big experiment**!" Marcus reminded him, making Fate tense more. They _**were**_ talking about her. She was so screwed if they noticed her or if her hoods were pulled off…

"Please do not swear around my children, Marcus." Gaster requested, not seeming bothered by the sudden news of what she had done. "It might be Dr. Torres' fault or just the big lab itself. You don't treat your patients very kindly, after all… Not to mention, wasn't **the big experiment** given to a _**child**_? That doesn't seem very fair."

"What isn't fair is that one of our best doctors, if not the best, is dead now. He has been for about a week and who knows who else the kid could've killed. You and/or your children could be dead right now, Dr. Gaster." Johnnie stated, although Gaster merely shrugged.

"I don't work in the big lab. I work in my own because of these reasons." He stated, looking back to the kid's and their game for a moment before looking back at the other men. "I mean, after all, I'm a father now, aren't I? I have to have time for my kids, no matter what."

"I don't think you understand the situation here, Dr—"

"I don't think you've tried to understand the child." Gaster suddenly said, making Fate tense again although she wasn't uncomfortable with him addressing her in any way. "They were held there against their will as an orphan, correct? They were surrounded with constant unfamiliar faces and were constantly abused for years, from what I've heard. It was very sudden that they got **the big experiment** and if you thought about being a young child in that situation… Well, I know that I would've been scared."

"Are you _**protecting**_ this child without even knowing them?" Marcus asked a little harshly, making Gaster shake his head.

"I'm simply sharing my opinion, gentlemen." Gaster replied before turning back to the group of kids, holding onto Destiny and Fate tightly. "Now, if you would please move on with your search, I am spending time with my children before we head back home for lunch."

The men exchanged looks and took a couple of steps to leave, but then must've noticed Fate's tail or that the number of kids was off, because they stopped and looked down at her and Destiny.

"You have _**another**_ little kid, Dr. Gaster?" Johnnie asked before looking a little harder at her fur color. "You know, that color matches our description. Ca—"

"I've had Fate as long as I've had Destiny. She's just not a very 'outside' person and she doesn't like social interaction either, so it's best if you leave now." Gaster explained although nearly all of it was a lie.

The men exchanged looks again before pausing and then turning on their heels and heading off in the direction they came from, but Fate didn't relax. Destiny knew much more about her than she wanted him to and Gaster had already known much more than she thought… Why did he let her stay with him and the others when she was obviously dangerous?

Suddenly, Gaster's hand rested on her head and she flinched under the contact although it was fairly gentle. She didn't look back at him and she barely moved otherwise, but he didn't seem to mind.

"It's okay. You had many reasons." He said. She paused, biting her bottom lip, before nodding a little bit. He kept his hand on her head before moving it away slowly. "We can talk later."

He stood up and called the others over, saying that they should start heading back for lunch before they missed it, and then turned to lead them all back home.


	5. And that was all

"And that was all?"

Fate took a small, deep breath and then nodded towards Gaster, who she had just told her story to.

"Yes. After that, I just… ran. Destiny found me in the middle of the snowstorm." She finished explaining, in which Gaster gave a nod back. She wasn't sure if he agreed with her actions, she didn't know if she agreed with herself, but he still seemed to accept her and she appreciated that

"… I worked in the big lab once, when I only had Sans and Papyrus. I didn't like Dr. Torres; he was always full of himself and didn't think of any consequences or mistakes when it came to experimenting." Gaster explained, in which Fate couldn't help but agree. That certainly sounded like Dr. Torres. "When I heard they were using a little girl for the big experiment, I didn't agree with it. I figured that she'd be dead in a second and that it was a waste of a life… but here you are."

Fate let out a scoff and shook her head a bit. Was she really here? She wasn't free.

".. Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence..." She joked, not wanting to bring. The mood down any more further. However, Gaster's hand gently made its way to the side of her face, bringing her worried gaze to his soft, understanding one.

"Child, I am always here for you... the other kid's love you for who you are—"

"For who they think they know."

" _ **They love you no matter what**_." Gaster sighed, his voice calm and absolute despite Fate's interruption. Said girl bit her bottom lip gently, still unsure about one particular person.

".. What about Destiny..?" She asked softly, removing her gaze once again from Gaster's. She hadn't really thought about how much Destiny knew and how scared he would be... but now that she was thinking about it, she couldn't stop thinking that maybe he would hate her. Maybe he would tell the others and they would kick her out of the house. Maybe they would carry her back to the lab or set her on fire like some sort of witch or—

"It's okay."

Fate's head snapped up to see Destiny standing in the doorway and she nearly started crying when she realized that he had heard _**everything**_. He looked calm, though, if not a little worried.

"I don't hate you. I get it, you were scared and you defended yourself... you saw an opening and you took it. Dr. Torres sounds like he was an awful guy who deserved it anyways." Destiny told her, although Gaster gave him a bit of a look that made him look a little ashamed. "I don't hate you." He repeated, climbing up onto the seat beside her. They were both so small that they could share one and very gently, with caution, Destiny gave Fate a hug. "You're my friend. I could never hate you! I understand and I know that the others would as well, but... I think we shouldn't tell them all of it."

"I agree, Destiny." Gaster sighed, getting up from his seat as Fate leaned into Destiny's embrace with a couple of tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm going to tell everyone the twisted truth... that Fate is from the big lab and was an experiment, but she is not dangerous and has not killed _**anyone**_. They simply think that she is dangerous and they are bad people for subjecting her to everything they did... but we stay calm and we protect our own."

* * *

"What!? Why!?"

Fate jumped a little bit at Destiny's raised tone, sinking down in her chair and leaning closer to her bowl of cereal. Cereal was great, like bread and milk except... better.

"I'm not sure if Fate should go to school, Destiny." Gaster repeated as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "She's been hauled back in studies most likely due to staying in the lab, she doesn't like social interaction.. It would be the new school year, I know, but most of the kids? Ugh, don't get me started on the PTA meetings either!"

"But Dadster—" Destiny went to argue, but Fate suddenly snapped her head up.

"I'm very well-educated, Gaster..." She said, her voice still soft, but actually stern for once. "I love to read and to write, math is super easy, science is great from what I've seen from the books in your study... whatever else there is, I'm sure some social interaction will be nothing. I mean... I hate social interaction, but the others will be there, right? I trust them and I'll just... stick with them.."

"Yes, but Fate... you have to keep up grades. You have to deal with kids younger, your age, or older and listen to a teacher. They tell you what to do and if you don't do it, you get detention or sent to the principal's office. Plus... some kids like to tease and bully." Gaster explained, in which Fate frowned a bit, thinking about it all over again. Would they make fun of her bruises? Her scars, her... injuries, perhaps her appearance?

"Hey, by the way... you're always wearing gloves, Fate." Destiny pointed out, in which Fate's head snapped up to look at him. She didn't mind him knowing, so she removed the glove on her left hand and held it out to him, showing that she was missing her ring finger and her middle finger on that hand. She also had the birthmark of a star on the inside of her wrist. "Whoa, that's so cool! How are you gonna get married in the future, though?"

Fate had never thought about marriage before and stared at her hand for a moment before shrugging.

"I guess... the ring will just be on the remaining stump." She replied, in which Destiny nodded in agreement.

Gaster sighed at this, wondering if Fate could really handle school... it was worth a shot, right?

* * *

Fate didn't realize that school started early in the morning. She nearly face-planted into her cereal twice before realizing that she didn't know what to wear, as she didn't want to wear her regular clothes. Luckily, Destiny was her friend and became a very good helper when it came to these kinds of things.

He picked out a dark blue jumper with a several black stripes, a pair of black cropped leggings, a pair of blue overalls with shorts instead of pants, a pair of dark green socks and a pair of red and white high-tops. He told her that she didn't need gloves, but Gaster changed her bandages before she had gotten dressed and she still needed to bundle up. She would never take off her necklaces or her bracelet, not ever.

Destiny and the others seemed pleased that she was going to school with them and honestly, Fate was very excited as well, past her anxiety about what would happen. Would the kids be nice? Would the _**teachers**_ be nice? Would the subjects be easy or hard?

Upon entering the classroom, she and everyone sat down in a group together, putting their backpacks beside their desks. Fate found the desks really cool, honestly, and was glad that Destiny had lended her one of his old backpacks. It was a plain black and Fate was content with that.

Class started only minutes later, a tall woman making her way into the room. Fate just then realized that this was a human and monster school, which gave her a bit more anxiety.

"Good morning, class!" The woman greeted cheerfully. "My name is Anna Bush; you can call me Mrs. Bush. Your first assignment of the New Year—" She paused to let the kids jeer, besides Fate who actually seemed a little interested. "—is to introduce yourselves to your classmates and to me! I'll give you fifteen minutes to fill out a paper before I call you up one by one to read them, but I do understand that some students might be nervous or they might have some trouble speaking, so… you may pass or ask someone else to speak for you, if necessary." She paused again, having passed out all of the papers and made it back to the front of the class. "So, little minds… start writing!"

* * *

"Okay, little minds, your fifteen minutes is up!"

Fate squeezed onto the pencil Destiny had given her, finishing up the last thing on her page just a minute after she was supposed to. She had to fill things out like her name, her birthday, her favourite foods and color, her likes, and… what she wanted to be when she grew up.

"We'll go in order of the attendance list, which means A to Z. First up, we have Judith Acerbi!"

A young girl with wild black hair and fierce brown eyes stood up from nearby, a huge smile spread across her face.

"I'm Judith Acerbi!" The girl introduced, sounding ecstatic. "I just moved here with my older brother, Klahan, and our mom! My birthday is May 24th and my Mom is a landscape gardener! My favorite color is beige and my favorite foods are bacon and chips with salsa! My interests include gangster movies, architecture, and baking! When I grow up, I want to be a baker!" She then took a seat and Mrs. Bush continued.

"Next, we have Destiny Allyn."

Fate watched as Destiny stood up on his chair so everyone would be able to see him, which caused multiple giggles to ring out through the room. He seemed unphased, his huge and usual grin on his face as he spoke.

"I'm Destiny Allyn and I've lived here for awhile with Dr. Gaster and a bunch of my friends, Asgore, Toriel, and Papyrus, Sans, Fate, Undyne, and Alphys!" Destiny introduced, having no trouble listing his whole household. Fate blushed a bit when he mentioned her, putting her head down as much as she could so she could stay hidden, but also continue to listen. "My birthday is July 15th and Dr. Gaster is, like in his title, a doctor… well, a scientist! My favorite colors are orange and blue, and my favorite foods are blueberries and tomatoes. I'm allergic to olives, though. My interests include dragons and olden things like castles and stuff! When I grow up, um… I want to be an archaeologist!"

Destiny then sat down, getting a high-five from Sans, who was sitting in front of Fate, and she did her best to give him a small smile. Mrs. Bush then continued on and Fate sat back, hoping for this to go fast but to also take a bit because she didn't want to speak. Maybe she could get Destiny to read for her? Mrs. Bush said that she could do that if necessary… School was already super weird, honestly!

"Felicia Bayer."  
Felicia was a girl with long, braided, wavy blonde hair and brown eyes.

"I'm Felicia Bayer and I've lived here since I was born with my twin brother, Felix, my little sister, Peggy, and my parents, Albert Bayer and Kiara Bayer. My birthday is February 2nd and my Daddy's a historian while my Mom's a model! My favorite color is hot pink and my favorite food is mashed potatoes. My interests include dogs and romance movies, and when I grow up; I want to be a model just like my Mom!"

"Felix Bayer."  
Felix was a boy with shaggy, wavy blonde hair and brown eyes much like his twin sister.

"I'm Felix Bayer and I live here with my twin sister, Felicia, my little sister, Peggy, and my parents, Albert and Kiara. My birthday is February 2nd, and my Dad and Mom work as a historian and a model. My favorite color is light blue and my favorite food is pasta, while my interests are… art, baseball, and music. When I grow up, I… I kind of want to be a dancer or something. Maybe an artist or a singer…"

"Toriel Damiani."  
Toriel seemed to have no problem standing up and talking to the class. She seemed… calm, almost. She also mentioned Fate.

"I'm Toriel Damiani and I live here with Dr. Gaster and my friend, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, Destiny and Fate. My birthday is September 30th and my favorite color is purple, and my favorite food is pie. My interests are baking and reading, and when I grow up, I wish to be a baker."

"Asgore Dreemurr."  
Asgore was calm, much like Toriel, but also a little fidgety. He mentioned Fate with ease.

"I'm Asgore Dreemurr and I live with Dr. Gaster, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, Destiny and Fate. My birthday is September 10th and my favorite colors are pink and white. My favorite food is pie and I like to drink tea. My interests are gardening and origami, and when I grow up, I want to be a gardener."

"Jamie Eccleston."  
Jamie was a girl with short, wavy, golden-blonde hair and dark green eyes.

"I'm Jamie Eccleston and I live with my Dad and Mom, David and Helen. My birthday is March 22nd and my Dad works as a delivery driver. My favorite color is olive green and my favorite food is a grilled cheese sandwich. My interests are baseball, old computer games, adventure movies, and action figures. When I grow up, I kinda want to be a scientist, but Dad says that I should be a baker or something."

"Abraham Fairclough."  
Abraham was a boy with short, curly auburn hair and dark brown eyes.

"I'm Abraham Fairclough, you can call me Abe. I live with my twin brother, Eugene, my little sister, Hallie, and my parents, Brent and Linda. My birthday is November 30th. My Dad is a tailor and my Mom is a teacher, working here in fact! My favorite color is a dark pink—I mean, blue, and my favorite food is pizza! My interests are art, music, soccer, and romance movies. When I grow up… I, um… I want to be an illustrator!"

"Eugene Fairclough."  
Eugene looked exactly like his twin with short, curly auburn hair and dark brown eyes, but his face was more round.

"I'm Eugene Fairclough, my birthday is November 30th. I live with my twin brother, Abraham, my little sister, Hallie, and my parents, Brent and Linda. My favorite color is a light pinkish-beige or a teal green and my favorite foods are pizza and meatloaf. My interests are soccer, action movies, and classical music. When I grow up, I want to be a musician!"

"Papyrus Gaster."  
Wait, so Gaster was their last name? What was Dr. Gaster's first name, then? As per usual, however, Papyrus was full of enthusiasm and very bright.

"I am the Great Papyrus! My birthday is July 24th! I live with my Dad, my big brother Sans, and our friends! My favorite colors are red and orange, while my favorite food is spaghetti! My interests are cooking, being a hero, and playing games! When I grow up, I want to be a chef!"

"Sans Gaster."  
Fate would have to ask Gaster's first name later, but she noticed that Sans only sat up more straight instead of standing and seemed very laid-back about everything.

"My name is Sans. My birthday is September 3rd. I live with my Dad, my younger brother Papyrus, and a group of my friends. My favorite color is blue, my favorite foods are hot dogs and burgers with fries and my interests are sleeping and science. When I grow up, I want to either be a scientist… or nothing, because being nothing means I can be lazy."

"Fate Konno."

Oh no. Fate froze, unsure of what to do and how to tell anyone that she really didn't want to speak. She was anxious and now that all eyes were on her because she had to raise her hand in order to not get marked away, she felt like she was going to have a panic attack. Oh God, she was holding up her left hand. Now everyone could see her missing fingers and her birthmark!

"Um, Mrs. Bush? Fate has anxiety and has barely ever left the house before, so could I read for her? It would definitely help out a lot." Destiny told her, standing up on his chair again and gently grabbing Fate's hand to tell her that she could put it down. She did without missing a beat, putting her head down as well. Mrs. Bush gave a small, understanding smile and nodded, in which Fate passed Destiny her paper and tried her best to ignore all of the eyes on her fragile little body.

"This is Fate, she lives with Dr. Gaster, the others and I. Her birthday is August 7th, her favorite color is green, and her favorite foods are pie, chocolate, and macaroni and cheese. She's allergic to Avocados, though, but likes to drink tea! Her interests are music, drawing, and reading books if she's not writing! When she grows up, she wants to be a police officer or an author!"

Destiny sat down again, passing Fate's sheet back to her, and without missing a beat, Mrs. Bush gave a nod, checked off Fate's name, and then continued down the list despite some of the whispering throughout the class.

"Chara Oakley."  
Chara was a child with chin-length light brown hair and red eyes, who seemed very chill with everything as they took a stand.

"I'm Chara Oakley and I live with my twin sibling, Frisk, and our parents, Georgia and Bradley. My birthday is October 31st and I was actually born a day later than Frisk, really put our Mother through hell. Also, I'm Agender, so please use they/them pronouns. My favorite colors are black, green, yellow and red, and my favorite food is chocolate anything. My interests are horror films, horror games, horror books, theatre, and medieval things. When I grow up, I want to be an actor or game designer."

"Frisk Oakley."  
Frisk was a child with chin-length dark brown hair and brownish-red eyes who stood up, but had Chara still stand with them. They put their hands up and Fate suddenly understood why. Frisk used sign language and Chara was going to translate to those who didn't understand.

" _Hi! I'm Frisk Oakley; my birthday is October 30th because I was born a day earlier than my sibling, Chara. I'm also Agender with they/them pronouns and my parents are Georgia and Bradley Oakley. My Mom is a reporter and my Dad is a receptionist. My favorite colors are blue and purple, and my favorite foods are pudding, pasta, and pie. Tea is nice to drink, but not too hot. My interests are drawing, exploring, movies, and theatre. When I grow up, I want to be whatever I can be to help people!_ "

"Undyne Segreti."  
Undyne shot up from her seat just as Frisk and Chara sat down, super excited and ready to use her loud voice that was the perfect match for Papyrus' _**very**_ loud voice.

"My name is Undyne Segreti! I live with Dr. Gaster and my friends, but my besties are Papyrus and Alphys! My birthday is April 19th, my favorite colors are blue and yellow, and my favorite foods are sushi, spaghetti and ramen noodles! My interests are anime, sports and playing the piano! When I grow up, I want to be a strong hero!"

"Karina Valerio."  
Karina was a girl with platinum blonde hair and small green eyes, who sent a side-glare at Fate and her little group. It made Fate uncomfortable because she wasn't even sure what they had done.

"Hello, I'm Karina Valerio and my birthday is on January 26th! I live with my little brother, Logan, and we live with our parents! Our Dad, Ian, is a security guard and our Mom, Diana, is a teacher who works here! My favorite colors are pink and gold and my favorite foods are grapes and yogurt! I like to go clothes shopping, I like to dance, and I love to listen to music plus sing! When I grow up, I want to either be a model or an actor!"

Karina took a bow, a couple of people clapping very loudly and obnoxiously for her, but Fate couldn't help but giggle at how Undyne and Sans discreetly booed from between their hands. Destiny even went so far as to disguise a "you suck" in a pretend sneeze. Mrs. Bush seemed used to this and that made Fate want to giggle more, but she didn't want to be mean to Karina considering that they didn't know each other very well.

"Logan Valerio."  
Logan was a young boy with short, messy platinum blonde hair and hazel green eyes.

"H-Hi, I'm Logan Valerio and my birthday is June 12th. I live with my older sister, by one year, Karina and our parents, Ian and Diana. Y-You already know her and what they do for a l-living. M-My favorite colors are purple, blue, gray, black and green, and my favorite foods are pears, corn steak, sausages and bagels with cream cheese. I'm allergic to crab and kumquats, though! My interests include sports, music, e-even dancing… When I grow up, I-I actually want to be a dancer or an engineer!"

"Alphys Willoughby."  
Alphys immediately covered her face with her hands and Undyne carefully grabbed her paper from her, standing up again to read for her friend.

"This is Alphys; she lives with us and Dr. Gaster! Her birthday is December 18th! Her favorite colors are blue and yellow, just like me, and her favorite food is ramen noodles! Her interests include anime and science, and when she grows up; she wants to be a scientist!"

"And lastly, MK Zingel."  
MK was a small monster with no arms, but he seemed full of potential and very ecstatic as he stood up.

"Yo, my name is MK! I live with my Dad, who's a construction worker, and my Mom, who is a part-time midwife and a part-time film producer! My birthday is October 16th, my favorite colors are orange and yellow, and my favorite foods are lemon cakes, French fries and strawberries! My interests include drawing, painting, just art in particular, camping, treasure hunting, action movies and soccer! When I grow up, I want to be an artist!"

And with that, the whole class had been introduced and Fate felt a little better, a little more comfortable, even as Eugene leaned over Destiny's desk to talk to her.

"Hey, do you like comic books?" He asked although Destiny was frowning at him, and Fate decided to just answer honestly. She shrugged a bit.

"I… I've never read one… Sorry…" She replied, in which Eugene gasped, seeming excited about that.

"I have plenty of good recommendations! I'll write a list of what's in the library and give it to you, if you'd like?" Eugene questioned, in which Fate quickly nodded. She wanted to make friends and she wanted to seem normal. Eugene continued talking. "Also, you have nothing to be sorry about!"

"Except for being a nerd." Felicia giggled, leaning forward in her seat. Logan seemed embarrassed and ashamed for his sister's words and Fate couldn't help but feel a little offended, biting her bottom lip gently.

"Why don't _**you**_ apologize for being ugly?" Chara suddenly spoke up, leaning back a bit. Fate felt her face heating up at being defended by some sort of stranger. It was nice…

"Excuse me!?" Felicia gasped, looking offended, but Chara only continued.

"Why, did you fart?"

The whole group started giggling and Fate felt a smile pulling at her lips. Chara was… great! The bell rang just in time and Felicia scoffed, standing up angrily and sashaying away from all of them. Chara gained multiple high-fives and Abraham turned to Chara to high-five them and then point at them.

"That was great. I like you." He stated, in which Chara shrugged.

"It's all in a day's work." They stated, giving Fate a small smile before standing up and pulling Frisk up with them. "Come on, Frisk! Let's go run around on that big field for all of our fifteen break minutes!" Frisk nodded excitingly and then the pair of siblings were off.

Fate found this okay.

* * *

Fate pulled her jacket hood over her head, sliding down her chair with a comic book recommended by Eugene because of the PTA meeting. It happened every Monday and Friday night, after school, and the kids were supposed to go with the adults. Since Gaster was part of the PTA, she had to be there with him and the others.

She didn't mind it. It was fairly quiet except for some chattering at the moment.

The kids were in a separate part of the room from the adults anyways, so Fate wasn't really worried. Eugene came and sat down beside her, a couple of simple nods passed between them before they both just went back to reading to same series of comic books.

However, Fate found herself putting down her comic book to help Eugene make a fort out of pillows, blankets and chairs. They both sat in there and _**then**_ continued to read… again. They were joined by Eugene's younger sister Hallie and Frisk, who was also reading a comic book. Chara eventually came to check on their sibling and joined them as well, bringing Judith and her older brother Klahan in with them. Klahan was tall and muscular, so he had to sit by the door to fit into the fort with them, which no one minded.

However, a blonde Mother suddenly walked by them, probably to go to the bathroom, but stopped upon seeing the fort. Almost immediately, Klahan, Judith, Hallie and Eugene climbed out of it, rushing away to do their own little things again. Eugene looked close to having a panic attack alongside Klahan. Chara crawled out with Frisk and Fate behind them, although Fate stayed in the fort for a sense of security. This lady was glaring at the three of them, after all.

"Greetings, Linda." Chara greeted, but the blonde Mother only glared more. Fate was uncomfortable.

"Take this thing down _**right now**_." Linda ordered, but Fate found herself not wanting to listen. She liked her little fort of protection.

"I-It's a fort, ma'am…" Fate told her softly, only to bring the glaring upon herself.

Everyone stared at her in shock and she wasn't sure why, but she got really scared when Linda stormed forward and started to take it apart herself. Despite Fate not wanting to leave, she immediately got out and ended up clinging to Chara. She didn't like being close to strangers, but Chara had already proven to be kind. However, Linda still turned to her with a look beyond pissed, getting far too close.

" _ **Clean it up**_." She ordered, but Fate was already breathing too harshly to respond properly.

"P-Please, g-get back…" She mumbled, mostly for Linda's safety and not her own. By then, some of the parents had come in to see what was taking Linda so long, including Gaster.

"Not until you clean up your mess!" Linda yelled, in which Fate started dry heaving by then. It wouldn't stay that way for too long.

"Linda, I suggest that you step back." Gaster told the human lady sternly, walking towards her. "Fate has anxiety and you're triggering her, somehow."

"Bah, that's bullshit! She's just a child and this _**anxiety**_ doesn't exist!" Linda argued back, but Gaster continued to try and get her to step back before Fate did something.

"I have a literal PhD, Linda. Take a step _**back**_." Gaster early ordered, in which Linda only crossed her arms and stood her ground.

It was too late by then for Gaster to pull her away. Fate had already thrown up, all over Linda's brand-new sparkly shoes… and every single kid was laughing as Linda screamed in disgust. Chara was laughing so hard that they couldn't comfort Fate, but Destiny was luckily able to make his way over, gently rubbing Fate's back and trying to calm her down.

" _ **Everyone is**_ _ **dismissed**_!" Linda shrieked, quickly storming away. Her kids quickly followed her, Eugene giving Fate a quick pat on the shoulder before picking up his sister and running off.

Fate felt awful. She was crying and she didn't know how to apologize, especially since Linda was already long out the door with her three children. She was rocking back and forth and sobbing loudly, unable to even get up to leave. Gaster quickly and carefully picked up the small, fragile girl, gathering his kids together and then having them take their leave. This wasn't Fate's fault, after all, it was Linda's.


End file.
